Wind Energy – Is it Viable?

by : Student A
What is wind energy?

Wind energy uses wind to generator electric power. Wind power gives variable
power which is very consistent from year to year but which has significant variation
over shorter time scales. Wind power is the use of air flow through wind turbines to
mechanically power.
How do wind turbines work?

The energy in the wind turns two or three blades around airfoil. The airfoil is
connected to the main shaft which spins a generator to create electricity.
When were the first windmills built? What were they originally used for? How has
their purpose evolved over time?
The first electricity-generating wind turbine was invented in 1888 in Cleveland,
Ohio by Charles F. Brush. The turbine's diameter was 17 meters (50 feet), it had
144 rotor blades made of cedar wood. The earliest known wind powered grain
mills and water pumps were used by the Persians in A.D. 500-900 and by the
Chinese in A.D. 1200. The first windmill manufactured in the United States was
designed by Daniel Halladay, who began inventing windmills in 1854 in his
Connecticut machine shop. They were originally used for pumping water on
farms.

Website I got info from:

http://www.thirdplanetwind.com/energy/history.aspx
What is their connection to sustainability?

Renewable energies are sources of clean, inexhaustible and increasingly competitive

energy. Growth in clean energies is unstoppable, as reflected in statistics produced in
2015 by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Clean energy helps the earth's
temperature increase basically changes climate. 17% of the world population do not
have access to electricity. But renewable energy is energy that is collected from
renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as
sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.
How are windmills significant today ?

The most important probably was pumping water out of the lowlands and back into
the rivers beyond the dikes so that the land could be farmed. Windmills is a mill that
converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called blades.
Centuries ago, windmills usually were used to mill grain grist mills, pump water wind
pumps, or both.
 Fairchild Wheeler

Our school, Fairchild Wheeler, is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Gold certified. The building gets close to 120 kW of power from wind turbines and
solar panels. It has a green roof design and its construction includes eco-friendly
building materials with energy-efficient mechanical systems, 76% of the site is
maintained as open space.